While a new study found a low chance of sudden cardiac arrest after sex, bystander CPR was performed in only a third of sex-related arrests

Sex is rarely a trigger for a sudden cardiac arrest but when it happens, only a third of people who collapse during sex are likely to receive CPR from their partners, a new study finds.

Researchers who examined the records of more than 4,500 cases of sudden cardiac arrests found a total of 34 linked to sexual activity, 94 per cent of them involving men.

However, their partners were alarmingly reluctant to attempt CPR. “This likely explains the relatively low survival rates despite mostly shockable initial cardiac arrest rhythms,” the researchers report in a study published Sunday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.